City Foreigner
by gypsysfeather
Summary: [Outlaw Queen AU] "It's a chilly Monday morning for ya in the Big Apple," A man's voice on the radio was saying as Regina stepped into some warm dress pants, "They say that today, November 3rd, is going to be the absolute coldest day that there's been in a hundred years." Winter in NYC is going to kill Regina, a Florida native. But with help from a neighbor, maybe she'll survive.
1. Chapter 1

**_City Foreigner Chapter One_**

"It's a chilly Monday morning for ya in the Big Apple," A man's voice on the radio was saying as Regina stepped into some warm dress pants, "They say that today, November 3rd, is going to be the absolute coldest day that there's been in a hundred years." And then, another man's voice joins in, coming through the speakers of her small radio by her bed, "So basically ever since they started keeping track?" And after that, the two men share a laugh and Regina turns the volume down with a remote after buttoning the top button of her pants.

She tosses the remote down onto the bed, grumbling something about it being so damn cold in this stupid place with stupid snow and stupid ice and stupid-

The damn dog. It barks... _again_. It stops her thoughts in their tracks immediately about all the stupid snow, and they turn to the dog. That _damn_ dog. She throws a button up shirt over both shoulders, walking through her bedroom and into her living room as she buttons it up, "I only leased this apartment because it was all I could get!" She yells, mostly at the dog – who could not yet hear her (like it would even understand her if it could hear her).

She reaches the sliding glass door to her balcony, one that adjoined to her neighbor's balcony where the dog could go in and out from the house. " _Shut up!_ " She yells at it, and the dog only gets louder. She finally stands up and reaches for anything, but lucky for the dog the only thing she can find is the hair clip that's pinned her bangs back to put her makeup on this morning.

Growling, she rushes back into her house and realizes how cold she was out there. She finishes the top button of her shirt as she's standing beside her coffee maker, waiting for the last bit to trickle down into the bowl so she could pour a fresh cup.

One thing she's figured out about New York is that they're too proud of their coffee. Miami had better coffee, plus it wasn't four dollars a cup – and that wasn't including the tax. She figures Folgers can make just as good of a cup of coffee as any of these sleazy coffee stands can, and she pays way less for it, and can enjoy it out on her balcony.

Well, she used to enjoy it on the balcony before the ice made it to where she can't hardly stand out there without being frozen into a life-size Regina ice cube, let alone sit out there and try to _enjoy_ a cup of coffee. She just allows herself enough time before work, now, to be able to drink one or two cups and read a little before she starts a hectic day.

Once she has finished her coffee and put on a hoodie to go over her shirt, a zip up, thinner jacket, and a big parka, she steps outside.

Miami blood doesn't mix well with the ice cold New York City winter.

Her office is only two blocks away – another reason she originally liked the place (before the dog, and before she found out she couldn't get anything else right now). She takes a cab there, but in the normal weather she would walk. She likes to get her exercise in. It doesn't beat running on the beach, but it's at least some sort of exercise.

She strips of all her extra, heavy layers once she's arrived to her office, hanging all of her jackets and coats on her own, personal coat rack right inside of her door. She likes having her own office, definitely. It gives her space to think and do her job better. Not that she didn't have her own office in Miami, too, but this one she likes more at least. Well, in the summer she liked it more. Now, the snow is so piled up that she can't see outside of her window that overlooks the city from the third floor.

Nothing is as nice in the winter time. Depressing and solemn are the two words she thinks of when she thinks of winter time in New York. Winter time in Miami? Hot, cool margaritas on the patio at her favorite bar on the beach, and bonfires in bikinis just to stay cool while roasting hot dogs.

Nothing like New York.

She left behind friends in Miami, but her family aren't there. Her family all live in Boca Raton, a very fitting place for her stuck up mother and sister. Her father is the mayor there, and her mother does nothing but spend all of her father's money on her sister – Zelena. Zelena, who went off to college three years before Regina did. Zelena, who has a degree to be a nurse but 'can't find a job' and lives off of Daddy's money. Zelena, who has always complained about Regina getting everything she wanted.

But as she looks out the window of her third floor office, she remembers all the hard work she's put in to get everything she's wanted – and even then, she doesn't have _everything._

"Ms. Mills?" A young woman peeks in the door, smiling softly and giving a warm _good morning_ before laying some papers on Regina's desk. "This is your newest client, he's being tried because he tried to flee the country after murdering a man in the Bronx." Her assistant explains, and Regina just stares down blankly at the papers. When the younger woman realizes she didn't hear a word she was telling her, she calls her name again.

"Oh." Regina says, shaking her head. "Sorry." She says. Her mind was completely out of it this morning. She was sitting at the beach today, a bikini tied around her and a cold beer in her hand. The waves soothing her rushed mind and the wind tangling her short, ebony hair.

The young woman repeats herself, and Regina thanks her before excusing her and looking over the papers herself. How the hell was she going to defend this one? He had nothing going for him. There's no way she could win this case. But, she'll try, because she still gets paid some even if the man doesn't win. It's still worth her time to try.

 **/**

Her apartment is nice, warm, comfortable – a total difference from her previous surroundings five minutes ago where it was gearing up to be a blizzard tonight. She made herself another coffee, even though it was already six thirty in the evening and she would be regretting it at about one in the morning when she counts the hours she has to sleep if she goes to sleep _right now_. Nonetheless, she sips at her giant insulated thermos of coffee while snuggling deeper into her fuzzy blanket before pressing play to watch her recorded shows.

She was just getting into the show when she hears a startling knock on her glass door that leads out to her balcony. _Who the hell is on my balcony?!_ She stands up and takes her coffee with her, getting closer to see Robin – her next door neighbor, and the damn dog in his hands. She cracks the door open just a touch, wondering how the hell he's standing out here with only a long sleeve shirt on and jeans and socks. "What do you want, Locksley?" She asks. She's not exactly gotten along with him, even though she's only met him once.

"You threw this at my dog earlier." He says, handing her the hair clip and sighing. "Please stop throwing things at my dog."

"Please stop letting your annoying dog bark while I'm trying to have a nice, peaceful morning." She snips.

He rolls his eyes, letting out a sigh that came with a fog of cold breath. "This is New York City, if it isn't the dog that is barking, there's cars honking. Be thankful." He quips, stepping back and away to his apartment, climbing the small little fence that separates their balconies and heading back into his own apartment.

She simply growls – again – and rolls her eyes as she plops down on the couch. Dogs and owners are sometimes too much alike.

 _ **/**_

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **New story!**_

 _ **Definitely an AU. What did you think of Robin and Regina's little meeting about the dog?**_

 _ **This chapter was super short due to it being a test chapter!**_

 _ **:) Hoping you all like it so that it'll be a multi-chapter! Let me know!**_

 _ **Thanks,**_

 _ **G.**_


	2. Chapter 2

"Regina." He nods his head as he walks by, walking the stupid little fur ball he calls Jimmy. Who names a dog Jimmy anyway?

She watches him with a bit of agitation swimming through her head, seeing him move to his front door in their hall and take his keys from his pocket, sliding it into the keyhole and unlocking it. And then, Robin and Jimmy disappear into his apartment, not long before Regina disappears into hers after a grueling day of work.

It appears that the man who was guilty of murder, is now wanting to plea insanity. Meanwhile, she feels that she is the one who needs to plea insanity due to all of the snow and ice.

This morning, she slipped and fell right outside of the apartment building – and that damned Robin saw her do it, too. What kind of threat will she be to him and his dog now, when they both saw her bust her ass all over the ice? None, no threat whatsoever after he offered his hand to her to help her up, but she refused (and tried to be stubborn) and did it herself, almost falling again when she loses her footing at first.

He tried to hold back a laugh as she had glared at him, but it just made him laugh more and keep walking that little _"Jimmy"._

Now, as she slips into a comfy, warm robe that she just bought yesterday (due to the amount of cold that was said to be headed her way). Her coffee is in her hand, and her book is in her other as her feet are propped up comfortably on the ottoman.

The book isn't great, she's never been a big reader – but she swore to herself that her thirtieth year of living, she would make herself like books more. She's still more of a movie person, and probably will never like the reading as much as she'd originally hoped she would. She hoped, also, it would make her seem more sophisticated – but when Robin saw her fall today and the book went flying from her hand, it probably made her look even more clumsy.

She's not sure why she keeps going back to the fall in front of Robin. It was just _so_ embarrassing, _so_ something she'd never do in front of anyone, and _so_ something that would _never_ freaking happen in _Miami!_ Days like these, she wishes she'd never taken the offer to be the head of a big firm in New York.

She almost didn't take it, back in January when it was offered. She loved her home too much. Her friends, her cousin Henry and even his mom Emma she missed time to time. Not as much, though, as she thinks she does when she FaceTimes with Henry. But nonetheless, Henry is only ten and should definitely have adult supervision while on the iPad, but she's not sure if Emma really qualifies as an adult most of the times.

But the deal with _The Big Apple –_ that's the ironic name of the firm – was too good to pass up, even though it meant moving almost 1,300 miles away and changing climates and surroundings, big time. They were promising her a double in her pay, a better title (in the office, at least. It meant she was in charge of a lot of people's cases), and way better benefits. So she took it, she moved in June, and now she wishes she were sitting on the beach drinking something fruity, instead of sitting in her cold apartment drinking hot coffee.

Days like these, she gets depressed so easily. Something she obviously never likes, and never wants to happen often.

Becoming insanely bored with the book (while only on page eighty), she puts her bookmark in neatly and sets it down on the ottoman, right beside her feet, and decides to catch a little television before going to sleep on this Friday night. Her favorite show isn't on, so she settles for some home renovating show that only has half of her interest, while her phone has the other half.

She jumps up immediately (mostly out of being startled) when she hears a loud knock on the door. "Regina? It's Robin..." He says through the door, but she peeks in the peephole anyway just to be sure.

When she's made sure it's him, she unlocks the deadbolt and turns the door knob, "What is it, Robin? It's ten at night!" She says, closing her robe tighter because she doesn't even have a bra on, and her hair is a mess.

He looks torn up and distraught – definitely distraught. "I'm sorry, Regina. I know you hate Jimmy but my son accidentally let him get out. I was just wondering if you'd heard of anything." He says sadly, and she realizes now that he has a young boy – about four or five – standing under his arm. The curly haired boy looks up at him sadly and puts his arms up, a sign, apparently, that he wants Robin to carry him because his father hauls him into his arms and kisses his head.

She never even realized he had a son, let alone a very young one. "I haven't heard anything about him. Where was he?" She asks.

"Our apartment." Robin replies, looking at his son. "Roland opened the door and out he flew. The little bast-" He stops and looks back at his son again, biting his lip. "The little rascal is so fast that neither of us could catch him."

She sighs, trying to not laugh at his use of language in front of his son. Shaking her head, she says again, "I haven't seen anything." and starts to walk backwards and shut the door.

She stops, though, when she hears a quiet little cry. As she's opening the door, Robin is trying to soothe his son, "It's okay, Roland." He whispers beside his ear, "We'll find Jimmy...okay? Don't worry..." Her heart melts and she's totally conflicted, wanting to go back and finish the half-interesting TV show, but also hating herself for not being more kindhearted to this boy.

"How about I help you two go look, hm?" She finally asks, swallowing thickly.

Robin's face changes completely, very confused he asks, "But you hate the dog?" and shakes his head as he repositions Roland, who now has his head buried in his father's neck.

Regina shrugs, sighing. "I do. But I hate to see children so sad, too." She says softly. And it was the truth, because she always had a soft spot in her heart for kids, and can't stop today even if it's to get a dog back that she can't stand. "And your son is no exception, so do you want me to help or no?" She asks, shifting her weight and folding her arms over her stomach.

He sighs and looks at his son, who was soaking his shirt in tears. "Yeah, just come knock when you get dressed." He says before turning to his own apartment and walking in.

She watches them the whole way until their door shuts, then sighs as she closes the door and rubs her head. "Damn dog." She whispers to herself, slamming her forehead against the door before going to her bedroom and changing into a little nicer clothes – and a bra. And a giant parka. Why the hell did she agree to this?

 **/**

She knocked on the door just seconds ago, and she's waiting now for them to come back out. They had to go back inside because they forgot the leash, just in case they find him tonight.

When they come back out, Roland has his hand tightly in Robin's, and his face was still red and tear-stained. He clearly felt horrible for letting the dog out.

Silently, the three of them make their way out of the hall and check all over the lobby and other floors, but no one had seen him or heard anything about a dog on the run. She follows them out of the apartment building, sliding her sleeve up and her glove down to check her watch, the snow hitting her face and almost stinging from how hard the wind was blowing. It was already eleven – she's usually asleep by now.

"Where are we going to go?" She yells ahead of them, pulling her sleeve back down and fixing her glove into place.

He stops and puts Roland down on his feet, holding his hand and thinking for a moment. Robin looked cold too, but not as cold as Regina felt. He didn't seem to be too phased by the cold, but poor little Roland had a red nose and chattering teeth, even though he was packed tightly in a heavy jacket and a warm hat and gloves. It was just too cold tonight. "Maybe Central Park? We go there a lot to walk him. Maybe he headed there." He finally says.

Regina nods, thinking that may be a logical idea. She doesn't know much about dogs, as she's never been much of a dog person. She's had a cat before, that was in Miami, and it lived for five years after she had it. She found it walking by her apartment, it was skinny and looked abandoned, so she picked it up and gave it a nice life. But dogs? She's never had one. Her mother always said they were just flea bags, waiting to bite. Maybe she has a fear of them deep down, but not of this stupid little Jimmy. She just hates him, yet she's looking to find him. For Roland. Only for Roland.

When they arrive at the park, so frozen and cold that she can't hardly think straight, she just continues to follow Robin. He's still comforting Roland, trying to assure the young boy that the dog is _surely_ okay, and is probably in a nice, warm place. The young, tired boy just simply nods and sniffles, rubbing his cold little nose.

"Robin, maybe we should continue this tomorrow. Roland is frozen and so am I." Regina says sadly, seeing the boy shake a little. "I'm sure... _Jimmy_ will be fine. He's probably tucked away somewhere warm."

Robin nods softly, kissing the side of Roland's head. "Is that okay with you?" He asks.

"But...but Jimmy..."

"Will be just fine." Regina jumps in, giving a soft smile, as warmly as she could. "Jimmy has a lot of fur," _that gets all over my patio whenever the wind blows,_ "And will be okay until we go find him tomorrow morning. Okay?"

He nods softly, agreeing finally to going home.

When they're standing in front of their doors, Regina takes her top coat off and swallows hard. "I hate this city." She hisses, breathing into her hands to try and warm them.

Robin looks at her, waiting for Roland to get in the door before he shuts it and stands beside her. "Thank you for looking with us tonight, Regina. And for getting him to wait until tomorrow. I didn't know you were so good with children."

"Well, I've had experience." She states coldly, looking down. Henry was practically raised by her as she was going through law school. Emma was only eighteen, pregnant, and single. Regina ended up taking care of Henry until he was five, when Emma decided she wanted him back now that she's married. It hurt her, and Henry, to give him away.

"Well, thank you." He says softly. "I'll buy you breakfast some time for your troubles."

"You don't have to do that. I just didn't want to see Roland upset. You know, I didn't even know you had a son." She says, looking up at him and taking a deep breath, one hand on her doorknob now.

He shrugs, looking at his door and shaking his head. "I just now got more custody of him. His mother has most of the custody."

"Oh." Regina says, simply sighing and shaking her head. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"What? Why are you seeing me tomorrow?"

"Well we haven't found that stupid dog yet, have we?" She asks, looking at him and licking her lips slightly to try to get them to un-stick from each other. "Roland would be devastated if we don't find him. Besides, I think he responded to my comforting a little better than he did yours." She adds in for extra measure.

Robin rolls his eyes a bit, shifting his weight. "Only because he's more used to being around women."

"Well?" She says sadly. "I can help. It's not a big deal for me to help." She snaps.

He sighs and shakes his head, "Fine. Just be here at eight." He says.

"Fine." She replies, opening her door.

"Thank you." He says again, right before she steps inside. "It meant a lot for you to help. I know you hate the dog, and me, and this weather and this city, but I'm just glad you helped." He states.

She gives him a soft nod, but not a smile. "You're welcome." She whispers, closing the door. Immediately, she heads off to bed. She lays down for just a second in all of her clothes she had been wearing, and the next thing she knows she's waking up with her alarm at 7:00.

Groaning, she sits up and realizes she's still in her clothes she was wearing last night. Now, it's time to get undressed and redressed and find that damn dog. For Roland, only for Roland.

Once she was dressed and looked a little more decent, she heads to his door and knocks. He opens, but he's breathless. "Hey, come in please." He says, leaving the door open as he runs back inside.

Alarmed, she looks in at what's making him breathless and sees him trying to tend to a small fire on the stove. She runs inside and basically pushes him out of the way, putting her jacket over the fire and putting it out. "You owe me a jacket." She growls, sighing and waiting for Roland to stop screaming. Robin was just stunned and her bravery, and at her use of her own jacket. He didn't say anything, and finally she turns to him and scoffs, "Haven't you ever caught anything on fire before?" She asks, shaking her head as she cleans it up a little, before heading over to Roland on the couch.

Robin was still stunned, "I- uh...I guess we can buy you that breakfast today?" He asks.

She shrugs, "I like PopTarts, too." She says, suggesting they just stop on the way at a convenience store and grab something quick so that they can get this search over with. She's already dreading the cold.

"PopTarts!" Roland exclaims, which brings a genuine smile to Regina's face as she looks down at him.

"You like those too?" She asks, receiving a vigorous nod from the boy. "Then PopTarts it is. Come on, Robin. We'll worry about that mess later." She states, standing up and picking Roland up when he puts his hands up like he did with Robin last night. She smiles softly at how light he is, how easy to carry. "You like to be carried, hm?"

He chuckles softly and nods, "I love being carried." He admits, laying his head on her shoulder.

They make their way out of the apartment building and to the convenience store, all three of them eating PopTarts as they walk to Central Park. Immediately, Roland's face lights up. "Jimmy!" He yells excitedly, letting go of Robin's hand and running over to the dog, who was curled up on a park bench. Jimmy jumps up and runs to Roland, jumping all over him.

Regina would be lying if she said her heart wasn't warm, and her eyes were feeling prickly from tears. "Well, my job is done here." She says, turning around to go back home.

"Wait!" Robin says.

"No, no." Regina says, rolling her eyes. "I'm freezing my ass off out here, Robin." She hisses. "Roland found Jimmy, and now all is well, I'm going home." She says.

He sighs, "I was going to buy you lunch."

"Not today." She says, turning around and leaving, going straight back to her apartment to thaw out.

When she shuts her door, she sort of regrets not taking his offer up. She likes being around Roland, it makes her feel important to someone again (other than being important to her criminals she defends on a day-to-day basis). But she's too cold, and she shouldn't get attached.

She never gets attached.

 **/**

 **What do y'all think? Feel free to talk to me about it on gypsysfeather dot tumblr dot com (. instead of dot lol)**

 **Thanks for reading,**

 **G.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Oomph."

She's spilled coffee all over herself, groaning as she looks up at him angrily. "Why the hell are you always in my way, Locksley?!" She snaps, sighing as she holds the drippy coffee cup away from her body and shakes the remainder off of her hands.

Robin is taking off his scarf, looking entirely too embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He says, handing it to her to dry herself off on.

She reaches out to take it, taking a step forward and slipping yet _again_ on the ice. She growls when her head hits the ground, throwing the coffee cup up against the wall. "I hate this damn place! I want to go _home!_ " She yells, ignoring Robin's hand to help her up, his sentences that she knows are to pity her, and she stands to her feet carefully, throwing the scarf back in his face. "I don't want your scarf. I don't want your help. I want my home back, I want Henry back, and I want my old life back." She snaps at him, turning around and leaving him completely stunned.

She was supposed to be on her way to work, but she just wants to go home and snuggle back up in her bed. She hates this stupid place, this stupid city, the stupid people _in_ this city. She just-

"Regina! Wait!"

She stops still in her tracks, angered and annoyed. "What the hell do you want?!" She snaps once again.

Running, he reaches her side. She doesn't understand how he can run on the ice when she can barely stand upright, let alone walk. "I just wanted to apologize for what happened." He says. "I was on my way to get Roland. I wasn't paying attention."

"Just go get your son, Locksley. Be glad you have one." She snips, making his head tilt a little and his brows furrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks.

Today's Henry's sixth birthday, a day Regina and Henry had been looking forward to until Emma took him back. They had made plans to go to Disney World, but now they're miles and miles apart. She just wants him back, if only for today. She wants to tell him Happy Birthday and give him a big bear hug, just like the past five birthdays. "Just go." She says finally, walking again.

Robin jumps in front of her, almost making her slip again. Her eyes were fiery, but he just takes her hand. "Do you have a son?" He asks, and the question absolutely floors her.

"No. Stop asking personal questions. I don't hardly know you." She quips, pushing past him and trying to walk further down the sidewalk so she won't be late to work.

He sighs and shakes his head, "I don't understand why you won't just talk to me, Regina. Just have lunch with me one day. Maybe you wouldn't be so damn lonely." He says loudly, yelling it from behind her.

She hears him, but she just keeps walking. She's afraid if she stops, that tears will come out onto her face. She doesn't want that, not in front of him especially.

 **/**

She's sitting at her desk, filing some papers away for her case. Stuck and annoyed at what she needs to do for work, but she doesn't want to go home yet (even though it's already six o'clock), because she doesn't want to chance seeing Robin. He really got on her nerves today.

"Miss Mills?" Her assistant walks in, and she looks up to see her standing in the doorway. The assistant knows that's her cue to speak, "There are two people here to see you."

"Me?" She asks, frowning. She doesn't know anyone that would- but! Maybe it's Henry and Emma! Maybe Emma surprised Henry with a trip to see her. "Bring them in." She says, a smiling growing on her face as she readies herself for her little love and for...Emma. Mostly for her little love.

"Gina!"

It's not the voice she was expecting. Not the voice she was even wanting. It's a voice she heard a few nights back, calling _Jimmy!_ Over and over in the park.

"Roland." Regina says, no enthusiasm anymore. Her excitement was gone completely.

"Hello Regina." Robin says, carrying a bag of what looked to be a few styrofoam boxes.

"And of course, Robin." She says sarcastically, frowning a bit as she looks at the bag. "What are you doing?"

"I'm bringing you dinner." He says, completely non-chalant. "Roland wanted to thank you for helping find Jimmy, and I-"

She huffs, "Robin, I'm at work. This is no time for playing tea ti-"

"Gina, look. I got you a PopTart for dessert, too." Roland says, pulling a (crushed) pastry from his backpack. She's just thankful it's still in the wrapper. He seems so happy, though, about that PopTart, and it almost makes up for the fact that they aren't Henry and Emma. The thought, at least, is what makes her feel better.

"Oh, why thank you." She coos, immediately putting on a happier banter for Roland. She stands from her desk chair and takes the PopTart, smiling softly at him.

He immediately puts his arms up to be held, and she sighs and gives in just as quickly – out of habit with Henry. "Daddy said we could bring you some food."

"What did you bring me?" She asks Roland.

He smiles softly, brushing his fingers softly through her hair without realizing it. "We brought Chinese. Daddy said that you order that a lot."

She looks over at Robin, grimacing a bit as she feels completely violated. "You watch what I eat?"

"No, they bring it to my door for some reason. I always have to tell them Regina lives next door." He states.

She feels her face blush a little, realizing how embarrassing it is that he knows how often she gets Chinese food. It shouldn't be something she's embarrassed about, but it is. Deep down, her mother's voice is inside of her head saying _a woman should know how to cook, a woman shouldn't have to eat out all the time, Regina you're such a failure – you can't even bake a cake._ All of those words play back in her mind for a moment before she realizes Roland is talking to her, telling her what he chose at the Chinese restaurant for her and them.

Regina sits Roland down on one of the rolling chairs around a small conference table in her office, walking over to Robin and pulling him aside. "Why are you doing this? Are you stalking me or something?" She whispers, frowning deeply as she speaks. She'd heard of stalkers and how crazy they are, how articulate they can be. But she'd never experienced one, and she's wishing Mary-Margaret – her cousin (and Emma's mother) wouldn't have told her about all of the scarier things that can happen in New York, compared to Miami even.

"I'm not stalking you." Robin says sternly, "I'm thanking you for helping with Jimmy. And I'm apologizing for what happened this morning with the coffee and all."

She looks down, rubbing her arm a bit before turning away abruptly and sitting down at the table with Roland to eat. She puts things on Roland's plate, just like if it were Henry sitting there. She sighs when she sees what she's doing, when she sees the slight stare Robin is giving her, and it makes her stop. She pushes the cartons of rice and noodles – the only two things she hasn't given Roland any of yet – to Robin's end of the table and sips on her water she has been drinking from all morning.

Robin dips the remainder of food out onto Roland's plate, giving it to the young boy who immediately dives in – without _any_ sort of manners, too. "Roland, if you're going to eat at my table, you have to use a fork." She says sternly, but a softness in her voice makes her sound nicer.

"But-"

"No buts." She counters, giving him a soft look. "All boys need to learn how to use a fork. I am pretty sure you know how."

"He does." Robin adds in, maybe to help himself not look so bad right now.

Roland sighs and looks down sadly, "But I like using my fingers." He says.

Regina smiles sadly, shaking her head. "I don't like you using your fingers." She states to him, handing him a napkin and a plastic fork. "There. If you're going to eat like a caveman, using your hands, you'll have to sit on the floor. This table is an important table – important meetings happen on this table so it has to be kept clean, as well as the chairs, too." She says, eating some of her noodles.

"What kind of important stuff?" Roland asks.

She looks up at him, then to Robin for some help. She doesn't want to tell him she has one of the most despised jobs in the United States – being a defense attorney. Roland wouldn't know what it meant, but still. She didn't want to explain to him that she helps bad guys stay out of prison.

Though, most of her cases haven't been that way. Her clients have been truly innocent, and they tried charging the wrong people. She's done a good job being a defense attorney, which is why she works at a large firm, now, in NYC. _Unfortunately._

"Stuff." Robin says, smirking at his son. "Don't forget to eat your broccoli."

Roland looks down at the little green tree on his plate, making a face that looked exactly like something Robin would do. It made Regina chuckle, and it made her feel suddenly much more lighthearted than she's felt.

Something about Roland makes her day go by so much easier. Maybe it's the thought of having kids around again, she misses Henry so much. But a kid isn't something she needs. Not with her trying to climb her way to the very top of her industry. Besides, you have to usually have a boyfriend or husband for that first – which she has neither of. And Roland isn't hers, never will be. He's just the neighbor who has an annoying dog.

Once they're finished, they have had their small talk and fortune cookies – and PopTarts – Roland and Robin clean the table up as Regina throws the trash away.

"I hope this table stayed important, Gina." Roland says, totally and completely concerned that he'd truly messed it up.

She gives it a good look-over, pursing her lips. "Looks fine. Only because you used your fork." She says, raising a brow and smirking a little.

Roland smiles proudly, happy to have not messed her table up she supposes, and grabs his backpack when his father tells him to get ready to go. "Bye Gina! Thanks for having lunch with us today." He says, hopping out of the door.

Robin chuckles at the boy, holding the door open to leave. "You really take to him." He says to Regina, who's leaning against the table and crossing her arms over her stomach.

She feels sick, but she knows it's the yearn to have a kid to go home to again. "I love kids." She admits, shrugging. "Is it a crime to love kids?"

"No." He says, "I just...he could use someone like you, you know. If you're up to it." He says, shrugging softly as he closes the door a little. "I'd like to know why you love kids so much. It's not a normal love." He whispers quietly, furrowing his brows. "You've lost someone, I feel it. I just...I need to get down to the bottom of it."

"Don't you have a job or anything?" She asks, changing the subject quickly – just like lawyers are taught to do.

He shrugs, "I work from home. Nice try, though, changing the subject on me like that. It's no wonder you work in such a nice firm. You're good at what you do." He states, opening the door again and walking out. "Bye, Regina."

She huffs, rolling her eyes at his comment and turning around without saying goodbye to him. Who does he think he is?

Once she's sat down again, she can't focus on her work. The clock is ticking louder and louder it seems, and it's already eight o'clock. She should be going home by now. All she can think about is Roland and Henry, and she wonders if they'd get along. She wonders what foods Roland likes compared to what Henry always liked, she wonders if they'd play soccer together in the hallway of their apartment complex if she still had Henry with her. But none of that matters. The damn Swan has him, and she has no one.

She finally gathers her things up, getting ready to go home for the night once the clock hits 8:15 PM. It's a long ride home, it seems, and she can't hardly keep her eyes open. But when she gets home, and gets to her door, she finds an envelope taped to it. It read, "Gina" with a capital G and capital A, clearly written by Roland.

She grabs it and walks inside of her apartment, opening the lip up and smiling when she sees a drawing of them eating PopTarts together today. She immediately goes and hangs it on her fridge, then sits down with her book and falls asleep not long after. Thank God it's Saturday tomorrow, and she doesn't have to go in. She's too tired.

 **/**

Halfway through the night, she woke up – seeming like she was completely rested up. She was too awake to go back to sleep, and it was only 2 AM. She gets up, makes herself a healthy snack of a bagel and peanut butter, then goes over to the couch to get her iPad out. After reading through Facebook, seeing all of Emma's snapchats out with her drunk friends, and looking through the hundreds of posts of Mary-Margaret's new (and very unexpected) baby, Neal, she decides to look some things up, just out of curiosity.

 _Being a mom and a lawyer_ is the first thing she googles, hoping to find some blog or something that tells how hard it is to juggle both so she'll stop yearning for a while longer. Usually her little "fever" as she likes to call it, or "baby fever", doesn't last long. With Roland around, it makes it harder to ignore.

The first two blogs didn't help her _not_ want a baby any. She's trying to talk herself out of googling anything else, but she goes ahead and clicks on the next blog. It wrote about how hard it is to juggle, but how wonderful it is to come home to her baby after a long day of being an injury lawyer.

Regina sunk down into the couch some more, taking another sip of her coffee that she made at about three. _Don't do it, Regina,_ she thinks to herself. But she does it anyway, and she looks up things about a fertilization process. She doesn't need a baby, she keeps telling herself that, and that soon it'll pass before she can even get any of this started. She's just lonely right now and wants someone to come home to, wants someone that makes her feel like she's the least bit important.

But that feeling in her belly just burns for a kid.

At about seven forty-five, she wakes up with the tablet still in her hand, and her neck is all cocked to the side and in pain from where she had fallen asleep sitting up. She looks at the clock to see that it's past time to get up, get ready for work – but then remembers it's Saturday.

Maybe, just maybe, she should ask Robin to go to the park with her. Maybe she should take him up on his offer to be her friend. _Maybe_.

She stands up and ties her tie for her robe, making sure she doesn't look indecent before going over to his apartment and knocking on his door. She pops her knuckles (she does when she's a little nervous), and waits impatiently before Robin opens the door.

"Regina?" He asks. "Wh- what...did...did you kill Jimmy or something?"

Regina shakes her head, rolling her eyes. "This was a mistake." She says, turning away again.

He grabs her hand gently, "Wait, I-I'm sorry. It was just unexpected. Is everything alright?" He asks, making sure first that she was okay.

She nods, turning to face him again. "I just wanted to know if maybe you and Roland wanted to go to the park with me today. I guess Jimmy could come too. I...Roland mentioned something about ice skating yesterday – and I've never been. He said he'd teach me." She says, smirking at the thought of a five year old teaching a thirty year old woman how to ice skate – or attempting to teach her how. It makes Robin chuckle, too. "So I was just thinking today would be a good day to start on those lessons?"

He sighs, the chuckle gone and the smile gone as well. "Not today. Roland woke up last night and was throwing up. He says it was the broccoli, but I say he has a bit of a bug."

"Have you taken him to the doctor?" Regina asks, immediately letting her motherly instincts kick in.

"Not yet." Robin says defensively. "We haven't had time yet. It _is_ only eight in the morning, barely." He says.

She sighs and nods, remembering that Robin's a dad, he can handle it. "Okay." She says, turning away again.

This time it's Roland who stops her – well, the pitter patter of his feet that stop her. "Gina?" Roland says pitifully. "Could you come watch a movie with me? Daddy has to do work stuff and I have no one to cuddle with."

It makes her heart break. Completely rips it in two. Robin looks at her, giving her the _I'm fine with it_ look, so she nods and walks in after Robin invites her in with a hand gesture. "Sure, Roland." She coos. "What are we watching?"

 **/**

 ** _A/N:_** ** _Thanks for reading and reviewing, guys. Keep up the work! Let me know if you have any ideas for the story. I like to hear them :)_**

 ** _G._**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Thanks for all the feedback on this story! Loving it. I'm enjoying writing this more than I'd originally thought I would.**_

 _ **This chapter unfolds a few more things, gets deeper into the story. Hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **G.**_

 _ **/**_

 _ **/**_

"He's sound asleep." She says softly, standing up and folding her robe back over her body again. She looks back at the boy, whose head of curls was laying on the arm of the chair. "I'll go home while he sleeps. If he wakes and wants someone to be with again, just let me know." She says, turning from his office doorway, planning on going back to her apartment.

"Hold on." Robin says, standing up from his chair and walking out with her to his hall. "Can I get your number? I don't have the time to be going over and getting you."

Regina immediately rejects the thought of giving him her number, so instead she just shakes her head. "No, just send him over. We can watch Netflix on my couch while you finish working." She says, turning away again and, this time, making it to the door before he stops her with his hand on her arm. "What the _hell_ do you want now, Locksley?" She groans, pressing her weight all over onto one foot. "Can't I just enjoy my Saturday without you?"

He shakes his head. "No." He says sternly. "I wanted you to tell me something before I just send my son over there with you. After all, you did say I was a stranger to you, so that means you are to me, as well." He states.

The thought makes her want to growl, but she knows he's trying to protect his son, even though it's his way of getting her to talk. "Fine," She says, "What do you want me to tell you?"

"I want you to tell me if you have a son." He says, "Or a daughter."

"No." She says, turning to grab the door known, but of course he stops her again.

She rolls her eyes, and he says, "Then why do you love my son so much?"

She looks at him with softer, more sad eyes than before. "Because I had someone who was very close to me, Robin. He was practically my son, yes. I raised him from a newborn through law school, he was my best friend and I loved him dearly."

"What happened to him?" Robin asks softly, his voice tender and sweet again.

She swallows the shakiness back in her voice before clearing her throat, "His mother took him back." She says. "And that's all you need to know?" She asks, "I just care for your son, okay? I love kids. Some people are lucky enough to have them, I'm not. He's the only decent thing in this city that I ever look forward to." She admits.

He seems to be taken aback a bit, but he nods. "That's all I need to know. I'll bring him over when he wakes up." He says softly.

"No, here." She says, grabbing his hand and a pen from the nearby table. "Just text me. I'll come get him." She says softly. "And if I receive a text about anything _other_ than Roland, you will not receive a pretty reply, Locksley. Mark my words." She hisses at him, finally getting out of the door this time and through his apartment, making her way into her own place.

She leans against the door once she shuts it, rubbing her face gently. She thinks about Henry, and about how he would definitely love Roland too. He likes all the same movies Roland likes, and they both love sports, too. She just wishes he were here...

He'd make everything better. The snow, the ice, the horrible traffic...Henry could make _anything_ better right now. If only.

 **/**

"Henry." Robin says, standing at her doorway. She opens it only because she hopes he's brought Roland over. "That's your boy's – well, the boy you kept – that's his name?" He asks.

She furrows her brows, moving to slam the door in his face before asking, "How the hell do you know that?" She asks, feeling uncomfortable more than she felt angry. She was truly beginning to be afraid he was stalking her, finding everything about her life.

He must see her shift, because he shakes his head and sighs. "I didn't mean to come off...creepy." He admits, "I-"

"Well you did." She interrupts, "Robin, I just wanted to help you out and keep your son, something that helps you and I both out. You, so that you can work, and I, so that I won't be so depressed in this weather." She says. "Now, please go home and stop asking me questions, and figuring out my life. It's scar-" She stops herself, not _about_ to admit to him that he's scaring her. That's something she never does, and she's not sure why she feels okay enough to tell him, especially when she feels he may be stalking her. It's just something inside her that's driving her closer to him, unfortunately.

"I only know that because I saw you pick your phone up when it was ringing, you got really happy and Roland asked if it was Henry." He explains, trying to make himself sound less frightening to her. "I promise you, I'm not stalking you. I just...I feel bad for you. And I know you're the type of person that doesn't want pity, but I can't help pitying you-"

"Stop." She says, interrupting him again. "Please, just stop." She whispers, tears wanting to form in her eyes, pricking at the whites and burning them. She's been fighting them back ever since he told her how he found his name out.

He sighs and shifts, loosening his body language a little, hoping to stop scaring her so badly. "Regina, I just...don't you want a friend? You seem so lonely. I want nothing more than to be your friend, I don't have bad intentions. I have a son for goodness sakes! A son who loves you a lot already. I would never, _ever_ do anything to hurt anyone, let alone someone my son adores." He explains, shaking his head a little bit. "Please just stop being so cold to me. I'm just wanting to help you. I see how depressed you are, and if you don't wanna tell me why you are, that's fine. But let me just help you."

"I don't want, or need, your help, Mr. Locksley." She grits, reverting to using his last name like that.

He closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why?" He asks finally, after a few moments of silence. "Why don't you want a friend?"

"I lose everyone." She says bluntly. "I don't make friends, because I'll lose them in the end. It makes no sense to-"

"That's dumb." He interrupts her this time, shaking his head. "You're going to push people out of your life before they're ever really in it, just because you have a fear that they'll leave, or you'll leave them or some stupid shit like that?" He asks, losing his cool slightly and using words he never uses with Roland anywhere near.

"Or some stupid shit like that?" She repeats, somewhat mocking his British accent as well. "My best friend died when I was eighteen. My father died when I was twenty. Henry was taken away from me after me raising him for five years. You don't think Roland will eventually be taken or forget about me, too?" She asks, shaking her head and placing one hand on the doorway, the other still resting on the door. "He will." She hisses. "Because everyone forgets about me, or they lose me, or I lose them. I had a few, not so close friends in Miami, but I got the job here and had to leave them. I had a boyfriend in Miami, his name was Graham. But guess what? When I told him I was leaving, he dumped me, said the relationship wouldn't work long distance because he needed someone to screw while I was gone, and then the next day he got hit head on in traffic and died instantly." She says, the tears that were once forming, now spilling over and down onto her cheek after her rant is on pause. "I lose _everyone_ and _everything_ , Robin."

He looks down, almost seeming guilty to her but at the same time, he was just writhing with pity for her too. "Regina, I didn't know you'd gone through all of that." He says softly, picking his head back up to look at her. "But you know what? I can promise you, that I'm never going to forget about you, and neither will Roland. You found our dog, you're more than just a neighbor to him, especially, because you're his superhero right now. And he doesn't just forget people like that." He explains, straightening up a bit more to look her in the eye. "And, I can promise you we'll never be an item together, but if we were ever to date and you moved, I'd never say something so cruel to you like that." He admits.

She rolls her eyes. "Don't even bring the subject up of me dating _you_." She quips, shaking her head. "I-"

"That's not the point." He says, cutting her off. "My point is, that I'd never leave you like that. I'm healthy, I don't have enemies that should want to kill me or whatnot. I don't know how your best friend and your father died, but it sounds like it was a sudden type of thing. So-"

"What are you? Some kind of shrink?" She snaps, becoming angry again.

He fakes a chuckle and shrugs. "Definitely not." He says, "I'm just someone who cares a bit more than you think." He says, "And someone who would like to take the time out of his busy work day to just sit down and have a decent lunch with his neighbor, thanking her for saving his dog and for being so kind to my his son." He says, looking at her with pleading eyes.

She looks down and away – those eyes are just like Roland's in the way they make her melt, but the only difference is that Robin's are blue, Roland's are brown. They both have the sad puppy eyes down to a tee. She grips onto the door so tightly out of anger that it makes her knuckles turn white, "Fine." She says through clenched teeth. "Only if it's pizza."

"Pizza it is. I know a wonderful place." Robin says, managing a smile for her.

She sighs, looking back up at him and swallowing hard. She's been wanting a good pizza since she arrived here. New York is supposed to be a place known for their pizza, but she's had three so far from three different places and she's hated all of them. She's hoping he has good taste in pizza. "And wings." She adds.

"Wings as well." He says, nodding toward her. "By the way, Roland is awake if you'd like to come over and watch another movie with him. Or I can send him over here until the pizza is here, if you'd rather."

She looks back into her apartment and nods softly, "Here is fine. I have Netflix." She states.

He smiles at her again, "I'll order the pizza." He says, turning and making his way back to his apartment.

 **/**

She loved the pizza, dammit. It was so good that she even ate an extra piece (something she never does, especially in front of other people and with wings, too). Roland was cuddled up on her hip, fast asleep again. She had given him some children's Tylenol earlier, and it made him a bit sleepy. Robin assured her it would be fine if he slept through lunch, since he likes cold pizza anyway.

Robin is wiping his face with his napkin, something Regina noticed he started doing more of after she had gotten onto Roland that night at her office. "So, uh..." He starts off, swallowing hard after taking a drink of soda. "Do you mind telling me about Henry? If not, that's okay too, I just-"

"I suppose I don't mind, since you've already pushed your way into knowing." She states, giving him a stern and solemn look. She takes a deep breath before looking back down at her plate that only had a few crumbs left, "Emma, his mother, was pregnant at eighteen. She had just gotten a job – or I guess you can call it a job – doing...'adult' movies. Henry was an accident." She says, sounding bitter as she looks down. She was an accident too, and her mother made it well known to her that she was never supposed to be here. Regina has always felt that anyway, she didn't need her mother telling that to her too.

"Henry was the result of a porn movie?" Robin asks, a bit astounded.

She nods in reply, sad and a bit distanced now, thinking deeper. "When she went into labor, she was a month earlier than her due date. But Henry...he was such a healthy boy. She never wanted him, so she signed him over _legally_ to me when he was only three hours old." She states. "I shouldn't be telling you all of this." She breathes, swallowing thickly and snapping out of her deeper thoughts.

He shakes his head quickly, "It's fine...it's fine." He assures softly, sighing a bit. "I can clearly see he's someone you love so much."

"So much." She repeats, looking down and nodding. "I raised him until he was five. Emma decided that she wanted him back when she settled down with some idiot that plays a pirate in an amusement park. Hardly the ideal family for Henry, but because she's his birth mother, she-"

"She gets to do whatever she wants." Robin finishes for her, swallowing thickly. "Marian – my ex...she does that too." He says sadly. "She likes to take Roland away from me at random, because she's the one who gave birth to him and the judge sees her as more fit, somehow." He says. "There's nothing wrong with her, necessarily. She doesn't put him in harm's way, but neither do I. We should have equal rights to Roland, but we just...don't." He says, now being distanced as well.

Regina looks at him sadly, letting out a soft sigh. "Enjoy the time you get with him, Robin. I know it's hard giving him back whenever, but at least you know you get him back eventually, too. I don't get my baby back." She admits, swallowing thick again. "He may not be mine biologically, but I love him just like my own."

Robin looks back at her again, biting his lip softly. "I'm sorry." He whispers, "You deserve to have him after all this time. But you also deserve to have one of your own – that way no one can ever take him or her."

Regina nods sadly, looking down. "I wish." She whispers, just _barely_ audible to him. "But I can't, my job is too demanding to be pregnant and I don't have any man to meet the standard." She says, shaking her head and shrugging. "It's fine. I'll just be depressed and lonely in this stupid city for the rest of the time I live here." She states.

He frowns, about to say something before the weather change outdoors catches his eye. "It's snowing again."

"What a joy." Regina says dryly.

Robin almost rolls his eyes, but then gasps a little. "Come here." He says, standing up quickly and grabbing her up, being careful to not wake Roland up. He drags her all the way to the balcony door, then outside. He closes the door shut behind them, then chuckles. "Since you're from Miami, you've probably never experienced the fun part of the cold." He says, looking out across the city. He steps closer to the edge of the balcony, grabbing the cold railing (with just his bare hands), and leaning over. His tongue comes out, his head tilts back, and he lets his mouth hang wide open. "Try it!" He says.

She just looks at him like he's some kind of alien creature, but sees him laughing about it all. It makes a smile crack onto her lips, so she steps forward begrudgingly and freezing, doing just exactly what he was doing.

He laughs a bit, standing up straighter. "Try to catch ten." He says, "Ready, set, GO!" He says quickly, trying to catch ten as quickly as he could.

Regina realizes, just then, where Roland gets his competitive spirit from – Robin, who already has five snowflakes and Regina hasn't even started. She starts, then, though, and tries to get as many as she can before he announces he's made it to ten.

He looks over at her, smiling big, about to taunt her for losing and being such a slow poke, she's sure of it. But instead, he must see her shaking, because he steps behind her and wraps his long, strong (stronger than she'd thought) arms around her, "You're freezing." He says softly, in a friendly and caring manner. "Let's get back inside, we'll save snowflake catching for another day when you're not such a rookie to the cold." He teases, and it makes her unable to keep from laughing.

She laughed at his joke for once. What's gotten into her?

 **/**

 **/**

 _ **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions or anything (literally anything), just leave a review, drop a PM, or message me on my tumblr which is gypsysfeather dot tumblr dot com (. instead of dot, of course).**_

 _ **Thanks!**_

 _ **G.**_


	5. Chapter 5

She's smiling over at him, tipping back her glass of red wine. (She had just stopped laughing, after him telling her how he once slipped in the city as well, falling right on his "arse" (and that's what she's laughing at mostly, is the way he says ass).

"Well, Henry would've loved this city." She states, holding the glass in her lap between two palms, her fingers dancing with each other while she swirls the drink around a little. "He would've loved the ice skating, the snowflakes, everything about it that I hate."

He shakes his head, sighing a bit and giving her that look that she hates. "Why do you hate it so much?" He asks, then it seems like an idea that pops into his head. "Oh, is it because it reminds you of things Henry would've enjoyed?" He asks,

She looks up from her glass, her cheeks a bit flushed from holding tears back. "Definitely." She admits in a breath.

Before she knows it, he's moving to her couch with her, wrapping a strong arm around her and kissing her cheek. "It's okay…maybe things will get better." He whispers before taking her chin, moving her face towards her and planting his lips on hers in a gentle manner.

She lets out a soft moan, leaning into the kiss and taking his bicep in her hand, holding the glass now in just one set of fingers. She squeezes his arm before slowly pulling her lips back, leaving her forehead there and moving in forward to rest on his. "Take me upstairs." She whispers, looking into his eyes lovingly.

And he does. He stands up, gently picks her up and takes her wine glass, setting it down on the coffee table.

She rests and relaxes in his arms, everything felt so right, so amazingly wonderful. She pushes herself up easily and places kisses on his chin and upper neck, just below his earlobe. She moves her teeth into position and starts to gently nibble at skin, not hard enough to leave marks but just enough to where she knows it turns him on.

He breathes a laugh, looking at her with a bitten lip. "You know me so well." He whispers, "But I know you better." He says, placing her down on her bed and sliding her nightgown up, her panties down, and placing his tongue right on the spot that makes her jolt out of her own skin.

She's opening her eyes now, sitting up in bed and rubbing her head as she looks around vigorously. Thankful, she sees no Robin, and no one else either. It was all just a dream, and – definitely a very wet dream, now that she feels her panties becoming damp.

She groans a bit and stands up, opening her curtains to see outside – see the everlasting snow and ice covering the city. She can already feel how cold it is outside.

After getting dressed for her Sunday morning coffee and reading time (she still hasn't gotten very far in that hideously boring book), she goes to the kitchen to start the coffee maker up.

When she checks her phone for the first time this morning, she sees a message and immediately hopes it's Henry, but nothing from him. Instead, it was a number she hasn't seen. She opens the message up and reads it:

" _Hey Regina, it's Robin. Roland is feeling much better this morning and is telling me he wants to take you up on the offer of ice skating. It's too cold for him to be out though, after just being sick, so he suggested some mini golf inside, but only if his "Gina" came." He had typed, completing the paragraphs with a smiling and a laughing emoji. "So, if you'd like to come with us, we're having breakfast first and would love it if you joined us."_

She was smiling a little up until the very last part about breakfast. Was that Roland asking, or was it Robin? But she takes a deep, shaky breath, and types out, "Sounds good. I'll be over soon. Tell my little prince to keep a PopTart for me."

She sets her phone down, then, and puts some clothes on that are a little nicer than her "cleaning clothes" she had put on, that are nice and comfy for sitting around and having a lazy Sunday.

When she takes her shirt off, changing her sports bra into a regular one, she glances in the mirror and bites her lip, thinking about the way that dream made her feel last night. But she shakes her head, clearing her throat and putting her other bra on. She doesn't need those kinds of feelings. She needs to focus on this case that she has, and that's it. Focus on her career, so she can open a firm of her own in Miami and be able to see Henry again. He may not be able to live with her anymore, but she can at least take him out for ice cream every Friday after school.

Once she's re-dressed, she heads over to Robin's apartment. She knocks on the door as usual, and Robin comes to the door, sweaty and his hair was messy. "Sorry, Roland and I were wrestling a bit." He says, breathing hard as the sweat gleams on his naked chest.

There's those feelings again. You're just horny, she tells herself inside. She takes a deep breath and nods, pressing a smile to her lips. "It's quite…ah, alright." She says and chuckles, stepping in once he moves out of the way. "I hear you're feeling much better, hm?" She asks Roland, setting her purse down on the counter where Robin always puts it for her.

He nods softly, walking over to her with messy hair as well from them wrestling, smiling big. "Yeah." He says, hugging her legs before she picks him up.

She smiles at him, "Good. I hate when my favorite boy in all of New York City is sick." She says, pouting her bottom lip out a bit.

Roland chuckles, "I'm your favorite boy in _all_ of the city?! How?! There's like...like...a thousand boys here!" He exclaims, in total awe that he could possibly be her favorite just in this whole city. This place was big to him, too, like a giant fishbowl to a tiny goldfish like Roland.

"In _all_ of the city!" She exclaims back to him, smiling even bigger and ruffling his hair with her fingers. "Did you make us some PopTarts yet?" She asks him, setting him down on his feet.

"Actually, I made a nice breakfast without catching anything on fire this morning." She turns to where she's hearing his voice from behind her, he's standing in the kitchen with his shirt still off. "We have omelets, and a large variety of them because I didn't know what all you liked." He says, putting the last plate down on the table.

She can't help but smile (only when his back is turned to her), and she's about to say something sort of nice to him before Roland stops her by grunting as he picks up the fire extinguisher. "And I had this just in case!" He says, making Regina chuckle and help him with the large canister.

"Here, let me help with that." She says softly, laying it over by the counter. She turns to the table again, where Robin is buttoning up a shirt now so that he's not nude for breakfast. She almost is disappointed, but when she realizes what her feelings are about his shirt being off, she wants to groan out of annoyance of herself. Here she is, pining over some Brit with an annoying dog. She doesn't need a man. She has plenty of toys in her drawer to suffice.

She sits down at one of the empty chairs after Roland takes his place, and Robin takes his place as well. "Dig in. I love omelets and this is about the only breakfast I can make and know it'll be pretty okay." He says, chuckling at his usage of large vocabulary.

Looking at Roland, watching him try to eat the omelet, she nods. "I love omelets too." She whispers, mostly talking to herself.

 **/**

"I don't wanna go back to momma's this week. Can't I stay with you this week?" He whines, tugging on Robin's pants sadly as he hangs around his ankles.

Robin shakes his head sadly, and Regina can tell his heart is breaking to have to leave this boy at his mom's. They were walking home and he realized it was already time to drop him off, and she didn't _really_ want to walk alone so she waited on Robin. "I wish I could, my boy. But she gets you this week, and then starting the next week, I get to have you for whole weeks instead of just weekends! That will be so fun, won't it?" He asks, trying to brighten the mood for his son.

Roland nods, but he's still not enthralled. "I like spending time with you and with Gina." He admits.

Regina feels awkward, staying out of the conversation, but she feels like it's not her place to get too involved into Roland's life. After all, she's already pushed her boundaries a few times with Roland's mannerisms, she feels like she needs to tone it down a little. But then, Robin looks up at her for help. "Regina..." He whispers, a pleading look in his eye.

She sighs, stepping forward to the boy and kneeling down, feeling frozen and stiff. "Guess what? You get to see me this Friday. I do boring stuff in the week anyway. I don't get home until it's almost time for you to go to bed, sometimes." She tells him in a soft, loving voice. "On Friday, we'll go down to your favorite place to eat – wherever that is – and we'll have some food. Okay?" She asks, trying to let him have something to hold onto, something to look forward to for the week ahead.

He finally nods, defeatedly but he does it. "Okay." He whispers, looking down and then back up at her again with teary eyes. "I'll miss you." He says.

It amazes her how attached he became to her in just a few days, and vice versa. She never gets too attached anymore, because everything results in a Daniel or Henry incident. She's even, somewhat, started liking having Robin around. She presses a soft, friendly kiss against his warm hat, hugging him goodbye. "I'll see you this weekend, sweet boy. But I'll miss you too." She whispers, giving him a warm smile before standing up.

Robin takes Roland upstairs into Marian's apartment building, then comes back down not two minutes later to join Regina. "That never gets any easier." He says sadly, tucking his hands deep into his jacket pockets.

She keeps her head down as they walk, but then she looks over at him. "I thought I was always supposed to be the depressed one, hm?" She asks him, giving a playful look to try to cheer him up a little. After all, it's something he would do for her, and she's still feeling loving from being around Roland. "Hey, cheer up. At least you have a child, one who loves you and can't wait to start spending whole weeks with you." She says softly. "My baby I raised is hours away because his biological mom took him back, and I never hardly get to see him. So just...try to enjoy the time, even if it feels short." She states.

He nods sadly, still sulking, "You're right." He admits. "It's just hard."

"I know." She says, turning the corner and going to the elevator for their apartment floor. She takes her hands out of her pockets, putting them up to her mouth once they're in the elevator, and she breathes into them trying to warm them up. "How the hell do your hands stay so warm all the time?" She asks, looking at Robin's hands – that didn't seem to be chilled in the least.

He chuckles, digging through his pocket and finding a hand warmer. "Trusty little things." He says, handing it to her in her bare hand. She puts her gloved hand over it, and closes her eyes from happiness over the immediate warmth rushing through her hand. "You learn those little tricks when you've been here a while. I can teach you some of them." He suggests.

She gives him a look, rolling her eyes and tossing the warmer back to him. "You think you're so slick." She hisses, feeling disgusted again, already.

"I'm not trying to hit on you." Robin finally admits. When she doesn't really act like she's listening to him, he startles her by hitting a button on the elevator and making it stop. He gives her a stern look, and she feels a bit nervous – but it isn't showing. "I just am one of those guys who wanna be your friend, okay?" He says. "What's so wrong with that?"

"You're a guy." She says, like it was something completely obvious. "Guys always have other intentions unless they're gay or really old." She states, becoming angrier with him the longer the elevator is stopped.

"My intentions with you, yes, are not the best. The best intentions I'd have with you should be better than just wanting to have a friend, and wanting my son to have someone who he enjoys being around. But that's my intentions, Regina. I just want to help."

She sighs, breaking and looking down. She swallows hard, putting her hands back in her pockets. "I'm sorry I threw the hand warmer at you." She says softly, her way of trying to calm down.

He chuckles, shaking his head in defeat. "You're only sorry because now your hands are cold again." He says, picking the package back up and putting it in her pocket closest to him, then grabbing the other from his pocket and putting it in her other one. She is about to argue with him, but he shakes his head. "That's my best pair of rechargables. I want you to have them, though. Think of it as a _Welcome to NYC_ gift." He says, a soft smile starting to grace his face as he presses the button to make the elevator go again.

She looks down, and again – she can't help but smile a little. She feels the silence begin to seep in though, so she clears her. Throat and swallows thick. "So what about you, Robin? You clearly haven't lived here all your life, based on your accent." She says, "Are you actually from the UK?"

He nods a little, chuckling, "Good observation." He teases he, getting an eye roll. "But yes, I am from the UK. Great Britain." He says. "I was raised in the country, though. Spent my days roaming the woods with cows and horses. Very fun, actually."

"So you come to New York?" She asks, a little confused. "Why would you come here after spending all your time in the country, and you seemed to like your time there..."

He nods, "I did. But my job brought me here, just like it did you." He says, looking over at her.

"What is your job exactly?" She asks, huffing a slight laugh and shaking her head. "All I know is that you're on the computer a lot, 'working', but you could just be watching porn and I don't know." She says playfully, looking at him now.

He laughs, rolling his eyes before they come to meet hers. She feels her knees buckle a little (or she thinks she feels them buckle) when his blue eyes meet her brown ones. Goodness, he had gorgeous eyes. "I'm _not_ watching porn!" He says, a bit defensively but he was still laughing. "I work from home a lot, yes, but I also work out of my office. I have a class I teach at the university. I'm a professor on outdoor sciences, learning in depth of trees and our nature." He explains.

She smiles a bit, nodding. "That sounds like you enjoy your job then, hm?" She asks, not sure why she's suddenly feeling so comfortable talking to him - but she is.

He nods again, "I do. I love teaching and I love the outdoors. Some weekends I take my students on hikes and even camping."

"I was never much of an outdoorsy person." Regina states, folding her arms over her stomach.

Robin lets out a laugh, raising his brows playfully. "I never would've guessed." He smirks, then shakes his head. "You just haven't been to the right outdoors." He says.

She shrugs, "I do like the beach." She says. "But it's warm and relaxing."

"So are the woods in the Springtime." He says.

She sighs and shrugs again, "I suppose." She says, stepping out of the elevator when it gets to their floor. She walks in front of him, but he gently takes her arm and stops her before she can get her keys out of her pocket, standing in front of her door. "I'd really enjoy it if you and I could have some dinner together. I'll cook." He says softly.

She looks down at her doorknob, desperately thinking she needs to just go ahead and shrug him off, just spend the night in. But her mind flashes back to her dream last night and how wonderful it felt to be in his arms and..."Okay." She says, but then she realizes she's a bit out of her own character and adds, "But only because I don't have dinner to cook tonight." She states, making herself sound a little more tough again.

He chuckles, letting go of her hand that he's still had a gentle hold of. "Alright. Do you want to come over now? I have wine." He says.

Her mind, again, goes back to her dream where they were sipping wine together and talking. But no, that's not what will happen, she tells herself. "Alright. Let me go get a more comfortable pair of pants on and I'll be right over."

"No pants are welcome." He says sarcastically, and he's clearly joking but it still makes Regina's stomach flip.

"Ha ha." She replies before opening her door and sliding in.

 **/**

"So you like to cook?" She asks, putting her fork into the tender pork chop he just made on the stove.

He laughs, shaking his head. "Actually, I hate cooking. I'm trying to get better at it though." He says.

She looks up at him to see if he's being serious, then laughs as well when she sees he really is being serious. "Well why did you offer to cook? We could've ordered something if you insist on eating dinner with me." She says.

"I try to be a better cook for Roland, first off, and second because whenever I go on dates, women always ask me if I like to cook. I feel like it's a test, you know?" He asks, cutting the very tender pork chop up for himself. "So now that I'm getting a tad bit better at it, I can say 'hell yes I like to cook'." He says, laughing and taking a bite.

She laughs and rolls her eyes. "You mean you're not one of those guys to make the woman cook?"

"Originally, yes. But that's one reason why my ex and I always fought." He says, sighing before smiling. "So now I learn to cook." He says.

She rolls her eyes. "So sexist." She says, biting into the food he's prepared for her. _Damn_ that's good food. "But you are at least a good cook."

After they finish eating, she finds herself fall into a conversation about Robin's ex-wife, whose name is Marian. It's a gentle conversation, Robin doesn't seem to talk too badly about her, which surprises her a little. The man she dated, she hates. She'll curse him any day, but Robin is just so nice about his ex.

"But you know, we're still friends I guess." He says. "I met her in high school. We got pregnant on the night of senior prom," He says, widening his eyes awkwardly before taking a short sip of wine. "But we lost it. She couldn't bare to even stay in the UK anymore, she said, it reminded her of the baby. So we moved, but by then I had already gotten a degree to teach. I started off in a high school class teaching to tenth graders, but then-"

"Robin, why are you telling me all of this?" She cuts him off, feeling a bit too much like he thinks this is maybe a date or something.

He looks up at her and sighs, "Honestly?" He asks, and she nods. "Because I'd love for you to talk. So I figured maybe if I talk to you, you'll be more comfortable to tell me more. You just...you're a mystery. In the short time I've known you I want to know more and-"

"And you want to push me to find out more, even if it means manipulating me." She says sadly, setting her wine glass down and standing up. "Thank you for dinner, Robin, but I think I'll be going home now." She says, grabbing her coat and leaving his apartment.

Once she gets into her living room, she falls down on the couch sadly, feeling a bit broken and saddened over the fact that he was trying to manipulate her into telling him more. What's so damned important about her, anyway?

 **/**

 **/**

 **So what do y'all think? Regina opened a bit more but Robin just closed it. Lol.**

 **Let me know how you liked it please!**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **G.**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Y'all may hate me since I haven't updated...but you're going to hate me more after the end lol.**_

 _ **You're welcome. Look forward to chapter 7.**_

 _ **G.**_

A week goes by. She avoids him at all costs, even leaving twenty minutes earlier for work all week just so she knew she wouldn't accidentally bump into him like she normally does on a normal work week. Back when everything was normal, before he tried ignoring her feelings and getting her to talk.

She felt like she was a criminal. Like one of the criminals she defends, how the judges bring up stories to get her clients to talk. She still was upset about it, especially coming from him – someone she was starting to consider an acquaintance, but now considers just a neighbor once again, one that she doesn't necessarily like or dislike.

"Gina!" Roland squeals as Regina steps foot out onto the balcony, shivering already as she is trying to just check the temperature gauge. But of course, Roland is out there with Jimmy (she still hates that dog and it's shrill, high-pitched barking).

She doesn't answer at first, but then she remembers – he's just a boy, just a little kid who doesn't have much of anyone but his dad and his dog. A little boy who saw a friend in her, and not because he wanted to know more (unlike his father). "Hi Roland." She finally says, turning to face him as she shivers in her robe. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing." She says, a motherly tone ringing in her voice.

"I had to get Jimmy inside." He says softly, petting the dog. "What are you doing out here?" He asks, mimicking her tone of voice.

She chuckles sadly, looking at the gauge. "Seeing how cold it is." She says, then laughs at the confused look on Roland's face. She sighs and shakes her head, "I'm going to go inside now. You should probably go back-"

"Can I come over for some PopTarts?" He asks softly, knowing Regina always had them.

She looks down and swallows thick. "Roland, I-"

"Roland." Robin says softly from the door, "Come on. It's cold out here."

"But Papa I-"

"Roland." Robin says, more stern and demanding. "Come inside. Regina doesn't want to listen to your ramblings." He says.

It makes Regina frown, hearing how mean Robin sounded to this little boy. "Robin, he can come over for PopTarts if he wants to." She says, a certain sternness plays in her voice - even though she knows it shouldn't be. Roland isn't her son, but Robin was just being petty.

He gives her a look, confirming her private suspicions that he would be annoyed with her for going over his authority, "Fine, Roland. Go eat breakfast with Regina if you want to." He breaks, shaking his head and turning inside, slamming the sliding glass door to shut.

She sighs at his immaturity, then picks Roland up over the fence that separates their balconies. "What kind of PopTarts today, little prince?" She asks softly, setting him down once they're inside.

"Cimmanon!" He says (the wrong way), because his lack of bottom front teeth hurt his words sometimes. "Please." He adds in, being polite for Regina. He knew she always liked it that way, and really wouldn't have it any other way.

She reaches over and taps the end of his nose with her finger, chuckling. She used to do that with Henry all the time, and it strikes her harshly that she does that with Roland too. It used to be something she only did for Henry - but only because Henry was the one who could make her happy no matter what. She quickly turns away from him and takes a sharp breath, telling herself to stop getting so attached to him. Robin already didn't want Roland to come over, what's it going to be like for her when he really _can't_ come over? She'll be heartbroken...and this boy isn't even related to her.

She pops the pastries into the toaster, heating them just a little and then spreading butter over them when they're warmed. Roland likes it that way. So does she, though. "Alright, here you go." She says, setting the plate down with a PopTart on it.

He climbs up the chair and starts eating, looking up at her with a mouthful. "Aren't you eating?" He murmurs.

She gives him a look for talking with his mouth full, but she chuckles and sighs. "I am. Mine's still in the toaster." She says.

* * *

"Gina?" Roland says, looking up at her as she holds him beside the fence on their balconies. "I have to go back to Mommy's today. Do you want to go meet her when Daddy drops me off?" He asks innocently.

She chuckles sadly and runs her fingers through his soft, beautiful, brown curls. "No, sweetie. But thank you."

"Why not?" He asks, frowning a little.

She sighs and looks at Robin, but he wasn't about to help her. He was still salty about this morning and about their dinner the other night. "Because I have to clean my home." She says, lying. It was already spotless.

"Oh." He says sadly, and it breaks her heart (as usual...when those brown puppy dog eyes get sad she can't resist).

"Well, I suppose cleaning could wait. But only if Daddy says yes." She says softly.

Robin looks at her, grimacing a bit and sighing when Roland says, _pweeeeeeeze?_ "Fine." He finally spits out, spewing fire from his mouth toward Regina. "Just this once."

On the way there, Regina and Roland played the ABC game. Robin was walking over to the side, pouting (as Roland put it), "We're here!" Roland says excitedly, taking Regina's hand and quite literally dragging her inside his mother's building. Once they get to her door, Regina gives Robin an awkward look - but she didn't mean to do it.

* * *

"Well that was interesting." She states, walking out of the building with Robin. She's slightly in front of him, but off to the side.

He hasn't said a word to her this whole trip, but he finally just nods. "Yep." He says bitterly.

She scoffs and stops in her tracks, turning around with her hands in her pockets. "What the hell is your problem, Locksley? _I_ should be the one with the attitude since you tricked me into dinner and talking. You tried getting me drunk!" She snaps at him.

He rolls his eyes, taking his hands out of his pockets and clapping slowly, sarcastically. "Congratulations! You've figured it out! I'm really just a date rapist!" He yells at her, a tone of sarcasm still in his voice. "You've won the bitch award!" He adds in before pushing past her.

She grabs his arm and yanks him back, making him turn to face her. He had that damn pouty look on his face again, and she did everything to keep from smacking it off of his face. "Don't ever call me a bitch." She snaps, "That will be the last day you see the outside of a jail. I'm a defense lawyer, I know how to put people into prison." She sneers. "Now, care to tell me your attitude problem or are we going to stand out here in the fucking blizzard and yell at each other?"

He scoffs and yanks his hand back from her, putting it in his pocket. "It is getting cold out here." He says. He never admits it's cold.

" _You're_ _cold_? I thought you were _'_ _used to it_ _'_." She says with air quotes, quoting something he had told her back at the park that day.

"Well it's negative twenty and I forgot long johns." He says, widening his eyes at her in annoyance.

She shifts her weight, bringing her arms around her body to warm herself up - or at least try to. "You're not leaving this spot on the sidewalk unless you tell me what's your shitty attitude about."

"Can you keep the language down?"

"No." She snaps. "Tell. Now."

He rolls his eyes at her, shaking his head. "I liked you, you know? I did that dinner because I liked you and I wanted to know more about you. You won't open up to me at all, so yeah, I served wine a lot to try to get you a little tipsy. Was I going to rape you? No. Was I going to ask anything overly personal? No. I just wanted to know stupid stuff like...like maybe about why you became a defense lawyer? I just...I had questions that I knew you wouldn't answer."

"You liked me?" She asks, frowning and furrowing her brows. "No one _likes_ me."

"Roland does. I do." He points out, shaking his head a little. "It just sucks because I knew you were out of my league. I tried really hard but I knew, still, that I wouldn't get you. And then when all of that happened, it just made it worse." He says, looking her in her eyes.

She sighs a little, looking down to think for a moment. Does he actually like her? How? No one does...but maybe this is different. Even if it isn't different, he deserves what's coming next. She grabs his cheeks with each of her hands and presses her icy lips against his frozen one.

He leans into it, and after the initial shock he wraps his arms around her waist to pull her onto his body. Fireworks were warming both of their bodies, and as they pulled away, their lips felt warmth again. "I-"

"Sh." She whispers, putting her finger to his lips and letting a small smile grace hers. "Don't talk about it...just enjoy it." She says quietly, growing her smile into her eyes.

He nods, kissing her nose softly, "I see." He whispers, his voice shaky but still strong, somehow. Maybe it's the cold that's doing it to him, she thinks. Maybe it's her nerves though. He speaks again, "Let's go home." before letting go of her waist finally, taking a step away from her. His smile was still worn on his face, peaceful again and happy.

"So," She says, trying to not chuckle at their little scene they must've just caused. They were yelling, then kissing. Maybe they really do like each other. "I know that I'm not Roland's mom or anything even relatively close to it, but um..." She shrugs and looks at him beside her as they walk, "He really likes coming over for breakfasts. And I wouldn't mind if you came sometimes too. He just...he enjoys it. Plus he makes my day automatically better and I'm always in a better mood. He just reminds me so much of Henry sometimes that I-" She shakes her head, stopping herself quickly. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear about Henry all of the time."

"I don't mind." Robin coos, looking at her. "I like to hear about him, I just like to listen to you." He says.

She chuckles sadly, looking down at their feet as they walk down the icy sidewalk. "Well, he reminds me of Henry so much that it just makes me miss him even more. But it's nice having Roland around, anyway." She says, nodding a little bit.

They reach the base of their stairs, and he waits for her to go up first. "After you." He says softly, chuckling a little.

She cracks another smile, going ahead of him and walking up to their floor. She starts to get her keys out, but he gently presses his hand against the top of her wrist as she's about to slide her key into her door. "Wait." He whispers, swallowing thickly. "I want to redo dinner...do it better and not so creeperish. Maybe less wine." He says, smiling sadly.

She nods softly, "I'd like that." She says quietly, clicking her tongue. Putting her keys back into her purse, she follows him into his apartment instead. Once they're both in and the door is closed, he turns to look at her. "Ah...I don't have dinner here. So...pizza?" He asks.

She chuckles, he's always so unprepared. "Sure." She coos, laying her purse on his table. "That's fine. I'll order it. What do you like on it?"

He likes pepperoni, and so does she. It's an easy order, really, since they don't have to get half just cheese for Roland like he normally would. The man on the phone tells her about twenty minutes, and she hangs up before sitting down on the couch. "Twenty to twenty five, so probably thirty minutes." She tells Robin.

He chuckles a bit, nodding as he sits down on the other end of the couch. "You're probably right." He says, handing her a Coke that she requested. "Not spiked." He assures, joking with her.

She rolls her eyes playfully, "Oh whatever." She says, "I doubt it." She teases back, popping the glass bottle lid open. She loves these glass bottles they're doing now again.

He lets out a sigh, looking over at her after taking a sip of his drink. "So..."

"So..." She repeats, the silence sinking in between them. It was getting awkward, and she'd figured it would be. Especially after their fiery kiss they shared on the sidewalk – it's not like they could be able to go without talking about what happened there.

"I-" They both start out at the same time, and they both laugh. "You go first." Regina tells him, nursing her drink.

He looks down and holds the bottle between his legs, fiddling with the neck of it. "I um...I think we should probably talk about what we did out there. You know, the kiss." He says.

She nods, doing the same with her bottle and fiddling with it as well. "Yeah, probably. I mean there's not much to talk about other than the fact that we kissed. It was more of a thank you, for just letting me know you liked me." She admits, shrugging softly. "No one ever has admitted that to me without it being in bed. You know? I just...it meant a lot."

He turns to her, resting his back on the arm of the couch and setting his bottle down on the coaster that's on top of the glass table. "Seriously, no one has ever liked you? Or at least let you know?" He asks, sounding a little surprised.

Nodding, she scoffs a laugh. "Yeah." She whispers, swallowing hard. "One guy did. He was my first love, and his name was Daniel." She admits, taking a shaky breath. She's never talked to anyone about Daniel, and she's not sure what's making her feel comfortable enough to tell Robin about him, but maybe it's because of Roland. She doesn't know. "Anyway, he died two weeks after he proposed. He was my high school sweetheart."

"Oh, Regina." He whispers, scooting closer to her and pulling her into him gently. "I'm so sorry." He says softly, pressing his lips gently to her soft cheek, right beside her ear.

She leans into him, taking a deep and calming breath. She takes in his scent, and she smiles when she realizes he smells like forest...and a bit like cinnamon. "It's okay." She whispers, "He died ten years ago..." She says, turning to face him.

"That's in the past now, then." He whispers, "Isn't it?"

She nods, kissing his nose softly. "It is." She says, swallowing thickly before her eyes fall to his lips, and she swipes her tongue over her lower lip before leaning into him again, kissing his lips lovingly.

His arms wrap around her waist again, and she takes that as a cue to move her hips onto his lap. She keeps her lips on his, wrapping her arms around his neck. Once she realizes how heated she was, and how hard he was getting beneath her, she pulls away and swallows thickly. "We should stop." She whispers.

"No, we shouldn't..." He says back, kissing her passionately before running his fingers through her hair.


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: QUICK UPDATE! YAY!_**

 ** _Hope you enjoy! (Don't get used to these quick updates lol). Also, please leave some cute ideas or whatever you'd like to see. I don't really know where I'm going with the story rn lol._**

 ** _G._**

 _Chapter 6:_

 _..."We should stop." She whispers._

" _No we shouldn't..." He says back._

…

…

"Okay." She breaths, placing her head in the crook of his neck, letting him kiss down below her earlobe to her collarbone. Her hands are running down his back, all the way from his shoulder blades (the highest she can reach – she notices now that she's perfectly shorter than him) down to the very top of his ass, and a few times she lets them slide down further and gently grabs a cheek. She likes the way he kind of jumps, she thinks it's cute.

He startles her out of her little daze (over his ass) when he picks her up into her arms, carrying her with her legs straddled around his hips. He takes two steps forward and pins her softly against the wall, gently grabbing her wrists and putting them above her head. He smiles softly, and the little crooked smile he has makes her smile, too. He's not only good looking, but he's sometimes adorable, with those dimples and all. "Are we going to my bedroom?" He asks, his voice husky and low.

She bites her lip down, taking one hand away from his grip and running it down his sternum, down his stomach, and stopping at his cock. She takes the hardened member in her hands and gives a gentle squeeze, then smiles, "I think we should..." She whispers.

He groans, something like a wild animal, and hoists her back up onto his hips before practically running to the bedroom. She laughs at his haste, and stops him by jumping out of his arms and grabbing his cheeks, kissing him lovingly. "Hey," She whispers, looking into his eyes. "No rushing. I'm not going _anywhere_. Besides, I plan on you keeping me warm all night." She coos, briefly looking out of the window at the blizzard currently happening.

He cracks a smile, and she's sure that's stopped his rush. "Okay." He says and chuckles, "I suppose I was being awfully...rushy." He admits, taking her hips into his strong hands. He chuckles deep in his throat and kisses her again, reaching for the front of her shirt and starting at the fourth button, since the other one that she had originally buttoned had come undone already.

He gets to the bottom of the buttons, then brushes her shirt from her shoulders, revealing her black, lacy bra. She looks down at it, taking a deep breath and making her breasts rise, "I'm glad I wore this one today." She whispers, chuckling a little before biting her lip.

"I am too." He replies, "But it's not staying on for long." He whispers, reaching behind her and undoing her bra just like that.

"I've never seen someone get a bra off that well." She tells him, her voice full of surprise.

He chuckles, "I've always been good at it." He whispers, then pulls the bra gently down off of her breasts, letting the straps slide down her arms. She shimmies the rest of it off, letting it land on the floor between them. They both look down at it, like it's some symbolic piece of their lives that just fell off to the floor, revealing a new piece.

She sits down on the bed right behind her, gently pulling him down to sit beside her. She turns and sits on his lap, pressing her breasts against his chest and smiling. "Do you like what you see?"

He makes a face, as though he's thinking about it. It makes her self confidence drop immediately, and she suddenly feels insecure and awkward. But then he gently grabs her breasts and lays back, letting her fall onto him. "I freaking love what I see." He groans, rubbing her breasts and kneading his fingers into them.

She moans, letting her head fall forward as she gets herself together. She laughs quietly and swallows thick, "Wow, that was...that was a shock." She says, working at his buttons on his shirt as well before sliding it off of his body. He's sliding her pants down her ass now, and she smiles at the way he slowly does it, rubbing her ass on the way down.

"You like that?" He asks genuinely.

She smiles and leans down to kiss him again, letting her lips linger before gently sliding her tongue into his mouth, sliding it over his tongue. "I freaking love it." She coos, mocking his earlier statement. In one swift movement, she flips them to where she's underneath him now. "But now? I need you to rush...I need you..." She whispers, looking into his eyes. She can feel her heart pounding, and maybe his heart too, even. It's so close to hers right now.

His smile gets bigger, and he nods softly before sitting on his knees and shimmying out of his pants and boxers, and she takes a sharp breath when his cock springs free.

"I-" She swallows thick, "I don't think I've ever had anyone this big, Robin." She admits, sounding childish and a bit like a virgin, but she was suddenly nervous – yet excited.

He leans down and kisses her softly, "I'll go slow." He whispers, kissing her again before taking her panties off, tossing them somewhere over to the other side of the small bedroom.

She has to admit, she's loving this. She's loving everything about him, about this little situation, about this night. It couldn't be more perfect in her eyes, but she's not going to tell him that. She can't, she can't get too attached. This is just a one night stand, and by the end of the week they'll be back to just neighbors...who have seen each other naked.

And maybe done other things to each other. _Oh_ , he just rubbed his tip against her center, _definitely other things to each other, too._

She runs her soft fingers down his shoulders, to his arms and finding his hands – meeting them at her breasts. "Go." She whispers, smiling a little. She's not sure how much more torturous foreplay she can take now.

Her cue results in him leaning down with a smile to kiss her lips lovingly. "I've waited a while to do this." He whispers, reaching between them to grab his cock, but Regina's hand beat him there. He chuckles a bit, she's giving him a devious look. "You minx." He teases lightly before moving his hips into hers, letting her hand guide him where he needed to go.

In unison, moans filled the room – probably waking the neighbors, even. "Hopefully no one was asleep." Regina says and flicks her brow upward, letting out a deep, throaty chuckle.

He agrees with a nod, a grin still worn perfectly on his face. He's still easing his way in, and she likes this. She _loves_ that he's actually going slow like she asked. So many others just...don't. Easily, she's enjoying it.

Once his tip reaches her hilt, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Okay." She says after letting it all back out, then opens her eyes to find his gorgeous blue ones, getting lost in them immediately.

Beginning to move, more moans from both of them reverberated throughout the bedroom, and the next door neighbor must think Robin is having an orgy due to all the noise.

Her hands slide down his back, feeling every muscle and bone move when he moves his hips, thrusting into her at a gentle pace. She reaches his ass, takes it in her hands and slowly rubs, kneading it in her hands. She always has loved his ass, and secretly has wondered what it would feel like. Now, she knows, and it's everything she's dreamed it to be.

"You can go faster." She says quietly as he's pressing gentle kisses down her neck, beginning at her earlobe and working his way down. "I'm adjusted well." She assures, and he picks his head up, nodding a little.

"You feel amazing, Regina." He whispers, kissing her again.

For the first time in...ever. For the first time ever – Regina actually feels a climax building up. She knows what they feel like, she's given herself plenty of orgasms. She's had orgasms from a woman named Mal, at drunken parties on the beach when they were in college (she liked to call Regina her _friend with a benefit_ ). But never in her life has she orgasmed from a man's cock inside her, and when Robin reaches between them and rubs gentle circles on her clit, she goes overboard. " _Shit_..." She hisses, tensing up everywhere, even in places she didn't know could tense up. Almost immediately, Robin pulls out and lets go on her belly, dropping his head back and swallowing thickly when he's finished.

He's covered in sweat, and she didn't realize it until now but so is she. "That was my first time, Robin." She admits.

"You're first time having sex?" He asks, brows furrowed in confusion.

She shakes her head, then realizes she shouldn't admit it to him. It's not like he really has any right to know or anything. "No...never mind." She says, becoming chilly suddenly. She reaches for the comforter and pulls it over the left side of her body, leaving part of her right side out.

"Tell me..." He whispers, laying down beside her and pulling the blankets over the both of them, turning to her on his side and running his fingers through her hair. "You can talk to me, Regina..." He says quietly, kissing her nose. "I love to listen. And like I said earlier, I love to listen to _you_ especially. You could talk about anything and I'd be immersed." He assures.

She chuckles sadly, rubbing her cheekbone. "I just...that was my first time actually... _finishing_." She shrugs, looking up at him now that she's gotten that odd sentence out of the way. "I've never finished during intercourse." She admits.

He frowns a little, "Why's that?"

"I don't know." She says, "I just never have. Never could. I couldn't ever...bring myself to it."

He takes her in his arms and holds her to his only somewhat sweaty body, "Well, I'm glad you did. Every woman should experience it once, or so I've heard." He chuckles, looking down at her at a harsh angle to his neck, "I really liked this tonight, Regina."

"I did too." She smiles, kissing him lovingly.

…

…

Days go by, more and more sex every night. But when the weekend rolled in, Roland was back, and their sex rolled right out the door. They both mutually agreed it wouldn't be a good idea to get Roland's hopes up, so they just acted like they always had.

"PopTarts at my house tomorrow morning?" Regina asks softly, leaning down to kiss his head of curls as she leaves their apartment. They'd all just gone on a walk with Jimmy to see the city that's beautifully decorated with Christmas lights. "I bought cinnamon ones this morning because I knew you'd be back." She coos and smiles.

He matches her smile, "Daddy, can I?"

"Of course you can." Robin replies.

Roland furrows his brows and looks up at Regina with a confused expression. "That was a quick yes." He says, and the way he sounded so mature made her laugh.

"Yes, it was." She agrees, looking at Robin over Roland's head and giving him a warning look, reminding him to act how they used to around each other. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, my little knight." She coos, bending down to kiss his head again. "Sleep tight."

"Don't let the bed-bugs bite." He adds, laughing hard when she gives him a silly look.

"Goodnight Robin." She coos, nodding toward him.

He smiles, chuckling and nodding back. "Goodnight, Regina." He replies.

She walks over to her apartment and gets changed into her pajamas, snuggling down into her bed and turning the television on. For the first time in a while, she's excited about a Saturday morning. A Saturday morning that involved... _family._ Even though they're technically not family, it felt right. It felt like something she actually needed.

She's startled from her thoughts when she hears a knock on her door. Not the front door, but the balcony door...that one can only get to from, well, the balcony. She gets up, grabbing the bat she's kept by her bed ever since she moved here. Her father had always told her to do that. "Who is it?" She calls out, her voice coming out a little more shaky than she meant for it to.

"Robin." She hears, and she lets out a breath of relief and goes to the door, then lets the bat down when she sees it really is him. "I'm not an intruder." He teases, smiling a little. "I just wanted a goodnight kiss, but I also wanted to show you something quite amazing." He whispers.

She steps outside on the balcony, tightening her arms around her body. She wishes she'd brought her robe, now. "What is it?" She asks softly.

He takes his hoodie off and puts it around her, zipping it up the front so she could stay nice and warm. She cranes her neck back to smile at him, and he wraps his arms around her body before sitting down on her icy bench. The cold never seemed to bother him. "Look out there. It's about to light up...they always light that tree on December 4th. It's not the big tree lighting, but I think they do it secretly just to keep the romantics alive." He coos lovingly beside her ear, snuggling her closely still.

She smiles up at him, kissing his cold chin. "You are an amazing romantic." She coos, looking into his sparkling blue eyes, all of the Christmas lights around the city were reflecting off of his irises. He looked gorgeous even when he had a bedhead. "I like this."

"I like this too." He whispers, kissing her head. She leans back into him, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"When should we tell Roland?" She asks softly, as he's reaching for the backpack she just realized he must've brought over with him.

He pulls a blanket out of it, a big heavy one, and then another one and throws them on top of them. He tucks them into their bodies and kisses her shoulder. "Any time, I think. Whenever you're ready." He says.

She shrugs and sighs. "Maybe after this big case I'm working on." She says, "I may have to go back home to Miami for a few weeks because of it..."

"What? Why? Will you be here for Christmas?" Robin asks, suddenly becoming concerned.

She chuckles sadly. "I will be here for Christmas, don't worry..." She says. "Maybe we should just go ahead and tell him. Tomorrow, maybe? Over PopTarts?" She asks.

He replies with a nod, "Sounds good to me." He whispers, placing his palm on the top of her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers, squeezing gently and lovingly. "It's about to-"

"Light." She whispers, completely awed in the beautiful sight. She takes it in for a few moments, then looks back at him again. "I love-" She chokes it back, realizing what she's about to say. "I love this...it's beautiful, Robin. The best date ever." She says, smiling before reaching her neck up to kiss him softly. "Thank you..."

"You're more than welcome." He whispers, smiling down at her before squeezing her hand again.


End file.
